Standing up for loyalty, corporate hero

I realize that the revolt at Market Basket is costing money. I understand that it's the little guy who may suffer when the food fight among the wealthy corporate honchos is resolved.

But still.

Wouldn't it be great if management held a job fair, and nobody came?

Wouldn't it be great if everyone stood up for the Market Basket employees who are standing up for their fired leader, and no one applied for their jobs?

"Right now, nothing has changed," Matt Harris, assistant manager of the Oxford store, told me late last week. "We're all in this together."

And that's the beauty of the Market Basket saga: A spontaneous, near-organic unity among employees who aren't even unionized, all putting their livelihoods on the line to bring back a beloved CEO, at a time in America when most corporate CEOs are considered bullies rather than benevolent.

As most people know by now, employees are demanding the reinstatement of former CEO Arthur T. Demoulas, who was ousted by his cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas. They held a huge rally and the new leadership fired eight workers. Improbably, that action only fueled the dissent and more employees returned for an even bigger rally.

Now, the workers and their loyal customers have all but shut down this once-profitable chain. So the company's two CEOs announced that they "need" workers back by tomorrow, and that they'll advertise jobs assuming that some employees would choose not to return. They've also scheduled job fairs, sending a clear message to employees that they can be replaced.

Harris called it a "scare tactic." And even Market Basket customers are inspired by the resoluteness of the workers and took out a full-page ad in The Lowell Sun, vowing to continue their boycott of the stores until employees' demands are met. They've raised money for the ad on GoFundMe.com.

Is the media romanticizing this drama? Maybe just a little bit, but it's impossible not to. How many bosses inspire such loyalty? How many employees stick their necks out in such a remarkable show of devotion? As a cynical journalist, I've long grown accustomed to union job actions driven by the usual demands for more money and better working conditions. Never have I witnessed such pluck and audacity.

Last week, Harris echoed the words of nearly every employee I've spoken with when I asked him to explain his loyalty to Arthur T.

"He's always been here for us," he said. "He's always been here for the customer. He knows our names."

And when Harris says that Market Basket is family, he's not kidding. Three of his sons work at the stores, in addition to a brother, two nephews and a cousin. Like many employees, Harris is a longtime veteran, having joined the company 27 years ago. But he's just a rookie, as the average tenure of a Market Basket manager is 34 years.

"I love it here," he said. "It's my whole life. This is all about trust and loyalty."

If the store wasn't so profitable and healthy, you'd almost consider it a cult. That's how devoted these people are to their leader. Closer to home, the late Ben Masterman created a similar corporate culture at Masterman's in Auburn, where he knew each worker by name and treated them like family.

Critics who scorn the Market Basket "peons" for risking their jobs over feuding millionaires miss the point. These people are standing up for a corporate hero and his ethos of respect and reward. It's a rare thing. I hope they persevere.

The board at this point should reinstate Arthur T., or accept his offer to buy them out. In the meantime, when the job fair opens, I hope it's as empty as the aisles at Market Basket.